


black dust in orbit

by lemon_jelly



Series: yo ho, yo ho (a pirate's life for me) [2]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Curse Breaking, Curses, Eye Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Ill add more tags as we go, M/M, Magic, Monsters, Pirates, Slow Burn, but its very minor, kind of, or at least slow burn until i cave, well kinda slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21656119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemon_jelly/pseuds/lemon_jelly
Summary: the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. nothing will tear their family apart..... at least not if they can help it.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: yo ho, yo ho (a pirate's life for me) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561198
Comments: 5
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> man i'm having a lot of fun writing this, so thanks for the interest!  
> more characters and tags will be added with each chapter, the rating might also change just so you're aware!  
> special thanks to cici and khai for betaing for me i love them both dearly <3

_The crushing warm feeling in his chest reminded Hongjoong of a time when he hadn’t known how to swim. A time when he feared the never ending blue horizon he lived near, and the dangers inhabiting it. He should have listened to his father and stayed away from the docks at night, even if Hongjoong’s intentions were good and he was simply waiting for his only parent’s return from his daily fishing trip. He remembers the way the sunset reflected off the almost black waters, remembers swinging his legs off the edge of the dock, he even remembers the uneasy feeling in his stomach only seconds before he fell in. Before he was_ dragged _in. The death grip of an ice cold hand around his ankle tugging him roughly into the water might have been more alarming if the shock of the seawater suddenly filling his lungs with every desperate gasp for breath hadn’t been more panic inducing. He hadn’t even thought to look down at whatever had taken him, too concerned with trying to get away, thrashing and grasping for a surface that was becoming further and further from him, quickly losing his desperate fight to get air back into his lungs as he was dragged out to sea, dragged further down into the depths of the black ocean he feared. It didn’t take long, either, for the burning in Hongjoong’s chest to begin to meld into only a dull pain, to become a heavy weight as his limbs became numb and his brain began to accept the fate he’d been given. He thinks, in this moment, that maybe the ocean isn’t so bad. The water feels like a warm embrace to his heavy and cold body. He thinks that maybe he could just stay here forever. The edges of Hongjoong’s vision begin to close in, and before his mind goes totally black he just wishes that he could’ve said goodbye to his dad._

Hongjoong’s eyes fly open as he suddenly shoots up in bed, gasping for air and tearing the blankets off of himself to check his ankle. The bruises that he had woken up with years ago still looking as fresh as ever, the phantom chill of a hand around his ankle still as prominent as the real thing since the day it happened. After calming his breathing down he looked up, first noticing Seonghwa in a chair next to his bed and his startled expression at Hongjoong’s sudden awakening. The second thing he noticed was that this was very much not his ship, his room, nor his bed. The third was his splitting headache, sitting up too quickly had even made him dizzy. Seonghwa gently moved Hongjoong back to lean against the headboard, the warmth of his hand on his shoulder was more than comforting, but there a question nagged at his brain that he just couldn’t hold back.

  
“Am I dead?” When he spoke his voice was hoarse, throat scratchy from not having had water in who knows how long.

  
A sigh of relief in the form of a laugh escaped Seonghwa’s chest, the tension in his shoulders visibly melting. 

  
“Not yet,” it was said with a soft, fond smile.  
Before Hongjoong could ask what happened, or even for some water, Changkyun drifted through the doorway with a glass, rattling the beaded curtain set up to allow some semblance of privacy.

  
“There’s our golden boy!” Hongjoong took the glass of water handed to him, grateful for the impeccable timing of the eccentric man. 

“Small sips, and drink it _slowly,_ Hongjoong.” The command was firmly tacked on with narrowed eyes; the desperate gleam in Hongjoong’s eyes must have been more than noticeable. The latter obeyed, although reluctantly. He’d been incredibly dehydrated more than once before, but he also knew how vengeful the Cursemaster could be when his instructions were directly defied.  
The room was silent other than the sound of Hongjoong’s swallowing, the other two sets of eyes in the room watching him drink with interest. Seonghwa’s expression was soft, gently brushing Hongjoong’s bangs from his forehead and scratching lightly at his scalp in the comforting way he knew Hongjoong liked. Changkyun’s gaze was more-so filled with curiosity than anything, the tiniest hint of concern hidden behind the excitement that was evident in the way the eldest held himself. The questions he wanted to ask almost visibly bounced around under his skin, it was a wonder he could hold them all in. Once Hongjoong had finished drinking, handing the glass to Seonghwa to set on the clustered dresser next to him, Changkyun spoke, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice, “How’s the headache?”

Ah, his headache. Hongjoong concentrated on the throbbing in his temples and the sprouting pain behind his right eye.

  
“Awful,” he conceded, not having to think about the pain in his head for too long to decide on an answer. The smirk that graced Changkyun’s lips when he nodded in response made the hair on Hongjoong’s arm stand up. He watched, curious, as Changkyun suddenly pushed himself off of one of the various tall bookshelves in his room that he’d been leaning against, causing all of the eye catching crystals and trinkets to jostle and clank. Changkyun either didn’t notice or just wasn’t bothered by it, the possibility of all his precious items falling from their homes a common occurrence in his life. He was too focused on crossing the room to one of his dressers in a hurry, stepping (tripping) over several crates, chests and even some plants, rummaging through each drawer while muttering to himself. He made a disgruntled noise, not finding whatever he had been looking for there, moving to another shelf and climbing to the very top of it, catching a bottle full of what looked like some sort of shimmery black liquid he accidentally knocked off in his haste. Suddenly distracted by the item in his hand, Changkyun hopped down from where he was on the fourth shelf up with a soft thud, staring at the bottle with an unreadable expression for almost a minute before snapping his gaze up to meet Seonghwa’s eyes. The suddenness of the action caused Seonghwa to flinch, the quirk of Changkyun’s eyebrow and the new attention on Seonghwa made him uneasy, causing him shift in the chair next to Hongjoong. 

  
As soon as Seonghwa was about to open his mouth to ask something, Changkyun was turning away again, quickly moving to his desk in the far back corner of the room. The old piece of furniture was covered with intricate carvings of sigils and runes, the placements of each one making a chaotic masterpiece in the wood. He went through the drawers, placing the distracting bottle in one of them before shutting them all and tapping some of the carvings with some sort of purpose. When Changkyun turned back around his eyes lit up, moving a few feet to sit on his knees in front of a large black chest riddled with locks hidden under some sort of glowing mushrooms surrounding what looked like an overgrown ivy plant. Changkyun gingerly moved the plant off of the chest, he then snatched the keyring he always kept with him from his belt. Hundreds of keys hung from the ring, and it was a wonder Changkyun could even remember which ones went with which locks. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the matches at all. Hongjoong couldn’t help but focus in on the few solid gold keys amongst brass, bronze, and silver ones. They somehow looked even more enticing to him than the single platinum key Changkyun was turning in the eight and final lock on the chest. They just couldn’t compare to the way the gold ones caught the light. As he watched more closely, focusing on the keys, his headache seemed to worsen, the pain behind his eye sharpening and pulsing. Hongjoong squeezed his eyes shut to try and help ease the sudden discomfort in his head, leaning more into Seonghwa for comfort. He didn’t normally do this, especially not in front of anyone, let alone Changkyun, but he was grateful for the way one of Seonghwa’s arms naturally wrapped around his waist, his other hand still occupied with dragging his fingers through Hongjoong’s hair. 

The moment was cut short by Changkyun clearing his throat, “You guys can have your weird silent love confessions in like ten minutes, but right now this is important for your headache.”  
Hongjoong mumbled something under his breath and forced his eyes open, moving away from the comforting warmth of Seonghwa only to be handed some sort of large seed from Changkyun. The thing looked a mix of an avocado seed and a buckeye nut. The seed was placed into Hongjoong’s open palm, and Changkyun spoke as he inspected it, “Crack it with your teeth, eat the insides _only_.” 

  
Hongjoong picked up the seed with his other hand, pressing it lightly between his finger and thumb and surprisingly finding it to have an easy give. Although Seonghwa’s wary gaze moved from the seed to Changkyun, Hongjoong had no reason not to trust the latter. He knew him for almost his entire life, after all. He popped the seed into his mouth before Seonghwa could protest, biting into the soft shell and allowing the viscous liquids inside burst and ooze over his tongue, the bitter taste akin to wormwood mixed with the scent of acetone. He let the contents sink into the skin of his tongue and down his throat, the burn it left reminiscent of menthol. Hongjoong waited until he was sure the seed was empty before he spit the shell back out into his palm. 

  
“Hyung…,” Seonghwa started, slow, “What did you give him?”  
Changkyun ignored Seonghwa, moving around the room again in search for something else, muttering and rummaging through his drawers and shelves again, pausing only to add more herbs to the already burning sandalwood incense that often drafted throughout his home and clung to his clothes. Seonghwa, upon realising he was being ignored, stood up in annoyance, his voice more firm this time, “ _Hyung, what-”_ He was interrupted by the sound of the seed hitting the floor. Hongjoong’s head knocked against the headboard, pressing the heel of his palm roughly into his right eye. His jaw clenched as his breathing quickened, the sudden pain bursting from behind his eye was almost unbearable, the veins around the socket bulging, but instead of the deep blue-purple they should have been, they were still a shimmery gold under his skin. Changkyun didn’t even pause in his rummaging about his cluttered room, whatever he was looking for somehow more important than whatever Hongjoong was going through. 

  
“Seonghwa, you should hold his hands.”

“What?”

  
“Hold his hands and don’t let go until I say so, okay?”

Seonghwa’s heart was racing, eyes wide in panic. He wanted to curse Changkyun out for hurting Hongjoong, for lying to them. On the other hand he hoped Changkyun’s intentions were good, and that whatever was happening to the person he cared about the most would pass when the eldest would give him the okay to let him go. He can’t risk losing him _again,_ not after all they’d been through. Seonghwa sat back down, this time next to Hongjoong on the bed. Quickly, he laced his fingers together with Hongjoong’s free hand, then moved to pry the other one from his face before doing the same to that one.

Hongjoong’s grip was like a vice, it made Seonghwa wince, but he grit his teeth and stuck it out. 

For Hongjoong.

“Hey, Joong, it’s- It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. I’m here, I’ve got you.” His words were the same soothing ones he had spoken to Hongjoong nights ago in the tomb, and just like that night Hongjoong couldn’t hear him. The prospect alone could have broken his heart, but the sight of Hongjoong in so much pain _again_ so soon after having _finally_ woken up was _shattering_. The desperate, pleading look Hongjoong gave him through his, still shimmery golden, tears had Seonghwa’s heart caught in his throat. 

“ _Get it out!”_

Hongjoong’s voice cracked as he screamed and thrashed, simultaneously trying to rip his hands away from Seonghwa or accidentally break the latter’s bones.

“ _Seonghwa,”_ he whimpered, outright begging for his help, sounding absolutely pitiful, “ _Please,_ get it _out. Getitoutgetitoutgetitout-”_ Hongjoong only cut himself off to hiccup and gasp for air, half choking on a sob.

Seonghwa’s lips were pressed into a hard line, keeping his grip on Hongjoong’s hands as best he could, and with the way the veins around Hongjoong’s eye socket bulged and pulsed angrily when he squeezed his eyes shut and outright sobbed Seonghwa’s name in another broken plea for help, he knew the ‘it’ Hongjoong had been referring to was his eye. He knew if he let go of his hands Hongjoong would be tearing his own eye out of his head in that moment, just to try and escape the pain it was causing him. 

It felt like hours, watching Hongjoong suffering, crying and begging him for help, telling him through choked out sobs that it _hurt_. In reality it had only been a minute or so before Hongjoong’s grip on his hands loosened significantly, the fight in him dying as he slumped forward against Seonghwa’s chest with closed eyes, his breathing heavy. Seonghwa’s gaze flicked over to Changkyun approaching them, seeming to have found what he had been searching for the whole time. The nod he gave to Seonghwa answered the question brewing on his tongue and he finally felt okay enough to release Hongjoong’s hands in favour of wrapping his arms protectively around his smaller frame instead, rubbing soothing circles into his back with a relieved sigh now that he’d been given the okay to let go. 

  
“What the _fuck_ , Hyung?” 

  
Changkyun shrugged, tossing a handful of dried berries into his mouth, the nonchalance emanating from him made Seonghwa’s hackles rise and he unconsciously pulled Hongjoong closer to him.

  
“It’s not my fault that he woke up before I was done,” Changkyun hummed in thought, setting something Seonghwa couldn’t quite see down on the nightstand behind him, “I’m surprised, actually, since he was still dying.”

  
Seonghwa’s eyes widened at that, “What-”

  
As always, Changkyun ignored Seonghwa and continued to speak, gesturing to whatever he set on the nightstand, “He’s fine now. This is for him when he wakes up again and when he does you should send him off to the others, they’ll want to see him.” He paused, looking Seonghwa in the eyes with a piercing gaze, silence filling the room for a moment before Changkyun spoke up again. 

“You and I need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [thinking emoji]  
> hope it was worth the wait to see if i'd continue Gold.  
> come yell at me  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/iemonjelly)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Iemonjelly)


	2. A/N UPDATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here's an update on what's going on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would like to preface this with i'm sorry, for those who care

Hello everyone!

  
I've _finally_ come to a decision on what I want to do with this story. I had/have many _many_ ideas for it, that have been mildly plotted out over the past? how long has it been? a whole year?

  
A lot of personal things have happened in my life, I was working when I started this fic, was promoted, and then lost my job. On top of all that, I was still working during the pandemic, 5 days a week, and on my off time I was too tired to really _do_ anything.

  
After I lost my job I went into a really bad depressive episode, and only recently have I started to feel better again. I even started college after being out of school for 6 years  
Anyway, the point is there's a lot that's been going on with my personal life, those things are just the surface of it all, and I feel bad for keeping everyone in the dark for so long about what's happening with Black Dust.

  
Well, I set out writing this story with no clear end goal, just several things I wanted to happen _somewhere_ in the story, and with no clear way of knowing how to get there. It, along with Weight In Gold, Anything for You, and well that was weird, are all thing's I've written after an _incredibly_ long time of _not_ writing. 

  
Going back and rereading it, while I like some elements, I'm not really proud of Black Dust, simply put. It has a lot of flaws and, after everything, I stressed myself out so _badly_ over it I've come to really resent it.

  
I've also fallen out of love with writing Ateez Fic (but that doesn't mean I'll never write for them again, it's just kind of a indefinite hiatus) 

  
So that being said, I'm going to **_Abandon_ **the story all together. 

I know, it's sad. I'm also sorry to see her go, knowing the effort and stress and anxiety I poured into this. Unfortunately you all have only seen just a glimpse of the work I've put into this story. And _because_ of that, and _because_ I made everyone wait so long only to update you with an authors note chapter (that I also hate doing)...

I'm considering typing up and posting the drafts I have for the second chapter, along with things I scrapped for the first chapter, the attempt at restarting all together, and maybe even my notes for future plans.

 ** _I WILL ONLY DO THIS IF ANYONE SHOWS ANY_** **_INTEREST._**

Part of why I was so uninspired to finish this story is the lack of response I felt like I got, and I know I shouldn't measure my worth in comments, but they're still uplifting to see. It's nice to be able to know someone cares instead of worrying blindly over something that maybe no one actually gives a damn about.

So, please, I _implore_ you. Leave a comment, send a curious cat ask— _anything—_ if you want to see the extra things I put into this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/iemonjelly)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Iemonjelly)


End file.
